The K-1 visa is the golden ticket to legal residency and labor certification in our country. For men who may not be Hugh Hefner with the ladies at home, they can be attractive to the tired, poor and huddled female masses eager to get the hell out of their own country.
By Egon E Mosum
Rumor has it that love makes the world go ‘round.
True or not, around the world there are women (or at least their avatars) who are searching for love from distant lands. The kind of lands where they can land themselves a K-1 ‘sweetheart visa.’
That would be this land, which is our land, the United States of America.
The K-1 visa is the golden ticket to legal residency and labor certification in our country. For men who may not be Hugh Hefner with the ladies at home, they can be attractive to the tired, poor and huddled female masses eager to get the hell out of their own country.
It’s understandable that when folks live in a poverty-stricken land, or are ducking drones and missiles in their neighborhood, they would seek to emigrate to the United States.
It’s also understandable that they might feign romance to save their life and get some liberty. And of course, (when they understand United States divorce laws), half of the property of the sucker they married.
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As it is aptly written on the Legal Language Services Website, ‘many consider these relationships to be based on false expectations — many foreign nationals want to escape poverty and be provided for, while US citizens expect subservient spouses who overlook flaws and personal differences.’[1]
Another aspect of the mail order bride racket are the internet introduction agencies. They will introduce their client to a photograph of a warm, loving, model - some random beauty that is just dying to meet them.
Of course, that beauty may in reality, be hooked up with the local arms dealer and not have the faintest idea or interest that their potential American groom even exists.
Nevertheless, the lonely guy will still pay to have his love letters translated, so that the image he sees on his computer screen — and often that’s all it is, will get to know him, love him, and keep him on the computer cash register.
But remember, scammers are equal opportunity deceivers. Women can also be the victims of mail order grooms.
This racket is widespread, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on their website reveal, ‘According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in 2022 almost 70,000 people reported being a victim of a romance scam.’[2]
Those seekers of love went for about $240 million dollars in 2022, according to ICE.[3]
The Federal Trade Commission, in a post about the topic outlines the ways the scams work.
They will tell the victim that they cannot physically meet them, (understandably difficult for a photograph). But they can meet them if the victim sends them money. Usually that money will be in the form of crypto, bank wire, or a gift card.[4]
Now, insult is really heaped upon injury when the target learns that some of the female scammers in this racket are men from third world countries pretending to be women.
A 2024 report from CBS News, spoke about how “Down a dusty alley in the Ghanaian capital Accra, young men huddle together in a small, dark room and cast off their true identities, taking on the phony role of women looking for love online.’[5]
It might seem hard to believe that some people are so lonely and gullible that they will send money to a photo of a supposed woman, on a website that is backed up by an African man typing away on his keyboard.
Incredible as it might seem, it is a multi-million-dollar industry.
The report quoted one of the African male scammers saying, ‘I fish everywhere in the world. Easy to catch are the Americans.’[6]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation details one of the more common pitches. ‘Scam artists often say they are in the building and construction industry and are engaged in projects outside the U.S. That makes it easier to avoid meeting in person — and more plausible when they ask for money for a medical emergency or unexpected legal fee.’[7]
On the United States Embassy website in Moscow, they state ‘The U.S. Embassy receives reports almost every day of fraud committed against U.S. citizens by Internet correspondents professing love and romantic interest. Typically, the Russian correspondent asks the U.S. citizen to send money or credit card information for living expenses, travel expenses, or visa costs.’[8]
So, it seems we not only have to worry about Russian bombs, but Russian blondes too!
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
Given the high divorce rate in the US, the breakdown of the family unit, it’s no great surprise that there are many thousands of lonely people looking for love — sometimes in all the wrong places.
The more desperate, the less physically attractive, the older person… these are the prime targets for foreign ‘mail order bride’ scammers.
Those that abuse the trust gained by generating romantic lies over a computer screen. They know their target market well, and they know how to sell.
The problem is widespread, the solution may be unattainable. We cannot legislatively eliminate loneliness; we can enact a code against the desire for companionship.
In many cases, where the origin of the scam is in a foreign country, there is little that our domestic law enforcement agencies can do. All they can do is warn the public against the potential fraud.
Reading this article, you may know of friends or relatives who are likely victims. Forward them this article. Perhaps it will help to make them aware of their own vulnerability.
The heart you save, the money you save, may be their own.
Sources:
[1] MAIL ORDER BRIDES AND FRAUD, LEGAL LANGUAGE SERVICES https://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/k-1-visas/
[2] THE RISE OF ROMANCE SCAMS ICE https://www.ice.gov/about-ice/hsi/news/hsi-insider/romance-scams-protect-yourself
[3] IBID.
[4] WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ROMANCE SCAMS https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-romance-scams
[5] INSIDE THE HUSSLE KINGDOM, CBS NEWS Deborah Patta et. al. 9/24/24 https://www.cbsnews.com/romancescams/
[6] IBID.
[7] ROMANCE SCAMS FBI https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/romance-scams
[8] INTERNET DATING SCAMS https://ru.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/victims-of-crime/dating-scams/